Will Rooney Blow His Stack?

First of all, no. As much as the Americans would love to see Wayne Rooney take himself out of the World Cup over some kind of temper tantrum, don’t expect that to happen. The great English striker has waited too long to get himself sent off and, in essence, wreck his team’s chances of winning.

Not that he has entirely grown up. Just two days ago, in England’s warmup game against local club Platinum Stars in Irene, South Africa, Rooney lost his patience with referee Jeff Selogilwe and yelled, among other things, “F— you!” One red card later, Rooney was on the sidelines, and the story caused quite a commotion among the British press. (Daily Mail headline: “Rooney Loses Plot.”)

In the 2006 World Cup, Rooney committed an unforgivable act of petulance when, in the words of New York Times writer Jere Longman, “He was ejected for doing a Portuguese folk dance on the groin of defender Ricardo Carvalho” in the quarterfinals. England wound up losing that match to Portugal on penalty kicks, and if you recall, it was a vigorous protest from Cristiano Ronaldo that led to the send-off. That caused quite a rift between Rooney and Ronaldo, but they became an unstoppable partnership at Manchester United before Ronaldo jetted off to Real Madrid. (“I just defended the colors of my country,” Ronaldo says now. “I did nothing wrong. If it happened again, I would do the same.”)

Now 24, and a father, Rooney claims to have matured, and most around the England camp feel that Monday’s incident was simply a matter of impatience, Rooney having waited a long time — while enduring many injuries — for the chance to redeem himself in South Africa.

“I don’t see him having a problem disciplinary-wise at the World Cup at all,” said Rio Ferdinand, the England defender and team captain who will miss the tournament due to a knee injury. “People have to realize it was a practice match, and that his disciplinary record has been magnificent over the last couple of years. He’s done so well to get to where he is now.”

Nevertheless, the U.S. team will explore the possibility of triggering Rooney’s temper. “You try to make his day difficult,” said defender Jay DeMerit, “and if a guy has as much fire as he has, then maybe those kind of things come out.”

————

The newswire:

Yet another great player has come up lame in a warmup match. Andres Iniesta, the elite Spanish midfielder, left the field with a leg injury against Poland yesterday and has been pronounced “doubtful” for La Roja’s opener against Switzerland . . . One of the really sour characters on the international scene, French defender William Gallas, has announced that he won’t speak to the press throughout the entire World Cup. Sources say he’s pouting over the fact that coach Raymond Domenech chose Patrice Evra, not Gallas, as team captain with Thierry Henry relegated to the bench . . . England midfielder Gareth Barry (ankle) is likely to play at some point in the World Cup, but he will definitely miss Saturday’s opener against the U.S. That probably means Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard teaming in central midfield, with Joe Cole on the left side. Gerrard and Lampard haven’t often clicked as a team, but both are explosive scorers and a definite concern for the Americans . . . The news wasn’t so good for Cole back home. He and Michael Ballack, the German star ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury, were released by Chelsea in the wake of their expired contracts . . . A story out of the Argentina camp claims that one of Diego Maradona‘s daughters, Dalma, has told the slovenly coach/legend to dress properly during the World Cup. The grossly overweight Maradona generally prefers something along the lines of a tracksuit, and hell, you never know with this guy. He could show up in a towel.

Got a ton of response sharing our outrage over vuvuzelas and the awful noise they will produce all month. Also came across a couple of scientific studies that claim the pathetic plastic trumpets can actually cause permanent hearing loss for those exposed at close range (one South African company is already marketing foam earplugs for spectators). Via e-mail, reader Brian McDonnell wrote, “Fight songs and cheers add to the color of a large crowd, but these horns are something out of the CIA torture playbook and should be outlawed — not just by FIFA but by the Geneva Convention.”